In the last few years, right from the previous World Cup that was held in Australia and New Zealand in 2015, the modus operandi of the Indian ODI set-up has been par for the course but also formulaic. Be it setting targets or chasing, the approach has been on predictable lines with the same set of personnel doing the job day in and out. It was in the same 2015 World Cup that England suffered an embarrassing exit and since then, their approach changed completely. Some of the other teams like Australia, New Zealand and South Africa also have people with different kinds of skill-set to set the tone for their style of play. But with India, things appeared stagnated.

Reaching the knock-out stages of limited-overs competitions is the first part of the job but to go one from there and sustain the momentum is another. A semi-final exit in the 2015 World Cup, a semi-final exit in the 2016 edition of the World T20 held in India and coming second best in the ICC Champions Trophy held in England a few months back forced a re-think of methodologies. Finding the core for the next big competition became the foremost agenda for the selectors and the team think-tank while becoming part of the core was the most important thing for the players. That no one is guaranteed a permanent position in the team became the mantra. Dynamism and thinking out of the box were the qualities sought, creation of good habits and sustaining them were talked up as key requirements while complacency and taking things for granted were frowned upon.

In this endeavour, certain experiments were carried out during the ODI series against Sri Lanka, one of which was a reshuffle in the Indian batting order. KL Rahul batted at No. 3 in one game, four in one and five in another. Hardik Pandya got a promotion to No. 4 in one game as did Kedar Jadhav and Manish Pandey. Virat Kohli, in one match, had dropped down to No. 5 as part of the trials. Although these experiments did not serve India's purpose, the rejig causing a flurry of wickets in some of the matches, India continued with the experiments and plan to keep doing that in the near future.

When Kohli took over the limited-overs captaincy in a full-time capacity at the start of the year, he had admitted that there were a few concerns with the Indian middle order and that Yuvraj Singh was brought into the side to bridge the gap and not leave MS Dhoni with the burden of having to shepherd the middle order. If the top order clicked things went swimmingly for India but when they failed, the problems came to the fore as was the case in the Champions Trophy final against Pakistan and the solitary loss to West Indies in the five-match series that followed. In order to fix these issues and plan for the next tournament it was decided that players would not be allowed to get comfortable with their familiar positions but be tried at different spots and provided with sufficient time to get used to playing different roles.

"We spoke about experimenting with a few guys going up and down the order. We have to try a few things. If you go out to play against India you know that there's going to be one pattern that's going to be followed. So people can prepare. Once we start playing like this and get more confident with the roles that we're given then we can be more unpredictable and with the kind of talent that we have in the side if we can be unpredictable as well then it becomes a lethal combination," said Kohli after India's 5-0 clean-sweep of the ODI series against Sri Lanka, explaining the need for the experiments.

"Teams will find it difficult to set a pattern against us and we'll always stay ahead of the game or at least try to, and more often then not we'll end up executing those things. But it's important to embrace that change and the guys have done it. Some guys will perform and some guys won't - that goes in limited-overs cricket and it's not an alarming thing for us, we'll keep doing these things in the future as well before we reach the World Cup," the captain insisted.

The changes haven't been restricted to the batting order alone. Even the bowlers have been rotated, some of the regulars left out and youngsters being tried out. India's experiments have fared much better when the bowling is concerned, with the likes of Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav leading the charge in the absence of Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin. Jasaprit Bumrah was a terrific spearhead for India in the ODIs while Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Pandya and Shardul Thakur also chipped in, making sure that the the likes of Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami could savour their rest.

These players may return at some point of time in the future but the competition for spots would keep them on their toes, as it would to the set of players who featured in this series. Thus, the creation of the core, avoiding complacency issues and adapting to roles are addressed at the same time. "The best thing is transparency. We address it and tell them that this is a bunch of 20-25 people who will make the probables for the World Cup and everyone has an equal opportunity to be tested at different stages. Till the World Cup we have what 42 matches, 37 now if I am not wrong, so yeah we will have to keep trying different players and try the best combinations for us," said Kohli when asked about the ways of addressing the problem of plenty.

"And we will have to give that combination a long run before we settle into the World Cup. So everyone understands where we stand as a team, you have to appreciate that and accept that because it is about the larger picture, it is not about who is sitting out and who is playing, it is about focusing on a very big tournament.

In that scenario people will have to accept roles and will have to accept things that are addressed. The best thing about this team is they are very sporting and they accept things quickly, and embrace the challenges, you know they take it as a challenge rather than getting disappointed and sulking, start working hard on that aspect of their game and make it happen for the team. So I am quite lucky that I have a bunch of players that do not oppose anything that the management and me as captain address to them. It makes my job a lot more easier," he added.

While there is nothing wrong with the idea of experiments and trials, the clock would tick soon enough and hence the time frame for identifying the core would also prove to be important in the lead up to the event in 2019. "The sooner the better," hoped Kohli when asked if the experiment idea is a time-bound matter. "If within the next couple of series we find the best combination for us, which is covering all bases and working well, and we find an eleven that is flexible enough to try different batsmen at different position or play bowlers who can bat a bit and things like that, then I think we are sorted, along with having the best fielding side on the park.

"I think that's a balance that we need to create. It will only happen when we have a couple of big series coming up. So if guys perform in that then the mindset becomes different, of taking anyone anywhere in the world. So I think those series will be very important for us to find the right balance as a team. It will be a stage for younger players to gain more confidence and be a regular in the playing eleven that is more flexible. We don't want to be predictable for sure, till the lead up to the World Cup and in the World Cup. We want eleven guys who can bat at any stage and bowl and chip in with overs at any stage. we remain unpredictable and there is no pattern to anything, the sooner the better," concluded Kohli, stressing on the unpredictability aspect. How that will turn out for the Indian team in the near future remains to be seen but winds of change have begun to blow.